Advice for Microbiology!?

Simplistic · Apr 30, 2017

Good luck. Just keep up and study EVERYDAY.

WCSU1987 · Apr 30, 2017

Micro is pretty straight forward. It's mostly memorization. Taking it right now terrible at Scantron test mostly 80s on exams and one 58. Like I said a lot of on for just a lot of memorization.

Lab is pretty straight to just know how to use a scope and take notes of bacteria you use for your unknown at the end.

Good luck.

Nurse Kay, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2017

I take my final tomorrow and I currently have a 98%. My best advice would be to dedicate as least 3 hours per day (on top of classroom instruction) to be able to grasp the meterial and score very high on your exams. It was not easy, but I defintely put in the work for the grade I'm receiving. Good luck and study hard!

Apple-Core, ASN, BSN, RN · May 1, 2017

Are you taking online or in person? Online is tough because although you do "labs" they're not hands on so if, like me, your a tactile/visual learner, it's tough going. I got 88% overall, just missed my A by a few points. Ugh! That was an online class though. I would recommend doing it in person.

crossfitandnursing · May 1, 2017

I have 2 weeks left of my Micro class and currently have 103%. Personally, I don't find Micro to be incredibly challenging and the concepts hard to grasp. As long as you pay attention in class and take good notes, you should be fine! I usually just study the day before an exam and review a bit the day of and I'm good to go. My biggest piece of advice would be to make sure you stay on top of the different types of tests in the lab portion. There's just a lot to know. Again, it's not hard to understand. Just a lot of memorization. So cramming for the practicals is definitely not ideal, especially since practicals can already be kind of stressful in themselves. lol

Shawn91111 · May 1, 2017

Taking Micro now, and the professor is now cramming 6 chapters into the last exam, I already have 250 flashcards, and over 100 pathogens +virulence factors, treatments and prevention for 6 chapters worth. Not easy

katiala · May 1, 2017

I just finished my micro class this spring term with an A. My biggest advice is basically the same advice for every class- study and do not procrastinate! Micro isn't easy and you need to spend your time studying and making notes. Stay on top of your grade and don't let yourself slack off. Lab I found you could just study the day of or the day before and you will be fine. Just make sure you pay attention on how to conduct the tests in class so you're ready for your unknown exams (in which you must identify an unknown bacteria) and do the best you can on whatever extra assignments/quizzes you have, always aim for that A every time.

Lecture is a whole other beast, though. I had to study by reading every day so I'd read all the chapters. Then again, my professor wasn't very good on telling us what would be on the test (he was a very disorganized man ugh) so we were just kind of left in the air about that and had to memorize as much of all the chapters as possible. Hopefully your's won't be like that, though. Flashcards help a ton with studying, too. Everything is easier when you break it up into little pieces. Make a study schedule for the chapters so that you go over a little bit every day up to the day before the test. Make sure to review from the previous days every now and then so you don't forget it. Maybe even make yourself a little study guide along the way. Then the day before the test, review all of the material! Since you already studied it all, it would just be a refresher. You'll do great as long as you stay on top things and don't put off studying! If there's any extra credit opportunity do them all, and always do your best on every homework assignment (if you get any). You never know if that 1 point could be the difference between a B and an A or even a C and a B. Another thing, study groups! Make friends in your class! Get together and study! But only after YOU have already studied. You won't learn anything in a study group if you don't already know anything yourself, you'll only end up wasting time. After you've studied, then set up a group and exchange what you know with each other. This is really helpful because someone will always know something you don't. You could also quiz each other before the test to reaffirm what you know.

Good luck you'll be fine!

Peepsimus, BSN, RN · May 1, 2017

Micro was much easier than I expected it to be, based on people whining about it. There's a lot of memorization that's largely structured the same way. The earlier you have a system in place to get that in your head, the better off you'll be. For each organism, you have to know what illnesses it causes, its virulence factors, if it has special diagnostic criteria, how it's treated, etc. I found that I was familiar with a lot of the material but hadn't had to put it all together before. Some of the Crash Course videos for chem and bio can be helpful to refresh your memory if it's been a while since you thought about the inner workings of cells.

pureanea · May 1, 2017

I'm taking micro right now and it's not that bad. If you're good at memorization, then you should have no problem in getting an A. I study about a week in advance (from an exam) for about two hours each day and I currently have an A average. Also, take good notes! There's a lot of note-taking involved (at least for my class) and it gives me a hand-ache. Go! You can do it! :)

CatsOnTheRooftops · May 1, 2017

Know how you learn best, and find a way to tailor your studying to your learning style. For me, it's reading over the powerpoints or the book and writing the information out in my own words. For some people, it's flash cards, or something else... you just have to try things and figure out what works for you to be most efficient. Also, if your prof gives you a study guide, use it! Khan Academy is good for review if you haven't used it before (that goes for lots of classes, not just micro). For your unknown, I can't emphasize enough: organize your notes! I tabbed everything out, and even with that and a flow chart I was slow to start. Take a deep breath and don't panic :)

Wiggly Litchi · May 9, 2017

Micro was a really interesting class for me, but it required a bit more critical thinking than one might expect - it can become overwhelming with the sheer amount of information thrown at you, but don't worry!

Take really awesome notes - color code things, use different colored highlighters and such to break things down into more manageable chunks.
Draw out flow charts if needed - drawing saved my hide as it made it possible to visualize things such as how antibodies are formed etc.
Flashcards - These were absolutely priceless for me, especially when trying to nail things like types of antibiotics, when they're used, their side effects and whatnot.
Mnemonics - Lovelovelovelove. I had them for everything, including remembering enterobacteriaceae and non-enterobacteriaceae haha . My professor told us to make them dirty so we'd remember them (she was 100% right)

Study every day - go over your notes often; really embed that stuff into your noggin'!

Good luck!